SoFla Guide Editors
The wait is over, Miami. Malik Willis accounted for three touchdowns, two through the air and one with his legs, as the Dolphins edged the New York Jets 28-25 on Sunday, October 25, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., ESPN reported. It was Miami’s first win of the 2026 season, and Willis drew praise across the board for a standout day.
How the Dolphins finally broke through
Willis found one favorite target and kept going back to him. Both of his touchdown passes went to rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas, according to ESPN’s game recap via the AP. The second was the kind of play that makes a whole living room jump off the couch: a 63-yard strike in the fourth quarter.
Willis also did damage with his feet. He scored on a 2-yard scramble with 6 seconds left in the first half, giving Miami a 21-7 lead, ABC News reported via the AP. Your aunt in Kendall who swears she can’t watch close games? She probably went to make cafecito right after that one.
The ground game carried real weight too. Running back Ollie Gordon II rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, according to Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post via Yahoo Sports.
The Dolphins were also fearless on fourth down, going 3-for-3 on conversions, the Palm Beach Post reported via Yahoo Sports. One of those calls, a fourth-and-1, became the moment everyone wanted to talk about afterward.
“When I saw the look in their eyes, I was very confident that we’d get it,” head coach Jeff Hafley said, according to ESPN via the AP. “As soon as I saw that, there was no doubt in my mind that we’d go for it.”
Willis saw it as a two-way street. “He trusted us, and we trusted him,” the quarterback said of Hafley’s fourth-down call, per ESPN and the AP.
The Jets made it sweaty
This one was not a cruise. Jets quarterback Geno Smith went 23-of-30 for 287 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, ESPN reported. Two of those scores went to Mason Taylor and one to Omar Cooper Jr. Braelon Allen added 104 rushing yards for New York.
So yes, Dolphins fans earned some gray hairs in the second half. But the final read 28-25, and WPTV in West Palm Beach carried the AP report confirming the score.
A homecoming win for Hafley
The victory was the first NFL head-coaching win for Hafley, and the setting made it extra sweet. He grew up in Montvale, N.J., about 20 minutes north of MetLife Stadium, and had roughly 30 friends and family in the building, ESPN reported via the AP.
The locker room afterward sounded like a proper celebration. WPTV, carrying the AP report, described Hafley’s postgame scene, and the coach didn’t hold back.
“I grabbed every guy as they ran in. My socks are wet. I had so much water on me. It was fun. They deserve it. You could feel a lot come out of it. I’m very happy for the players. They did a great job,” Hafley said, per WPTV and the AP.
He made clear the win was about his players, not himself. “I just wanted the win for them,” Hafley said, according to Yahoo Sports and Athlon Sports. “I just wanted them to feel this, all the hard work, all the things that we’ve been asking them to do since OTAs, and just stay into the process.”
He also laid out the identity he wants from this team. “The most important thing to me is always going to be how hard we play and how tough we play,” Hafley said, per Yahoo Sports and Athlon Sports.
What it means for South Florida
For a fan base that had been waiting all fall for something to cheer about, this was a release valve. Willis credited the team’s bye week with helping everyone reset.
“We got a chance to really see where we were at. We put a lot of good stuff on tape. And when you see that consistent, game in and game out, it builds a lot of confidence in guys,” Willis said, according to Yahoo Sports via the AP.
The win also means Miami is no longer in the winless club. After the Dolphins’ victory, the Los Angeles Chargers remained the only winless team in the NFL, Yahoo Sports reported on October 25.
The Dolphins’ official team site posted video of Willis’s postgame press conference and spotlighted his three-touchdown performance against the Jets, so if you want to hear him break it down yourself, that’s where to find it.
One win doesn’t fix a season. But a rookie receiver breaking a 63-yard score, a quarterback scrambling in right before the half, a perfect day on fourth down and a coach with soaking wet socks? That’s a pretty good Sunday in South Florida.
